Acupuncturist Ciara Clissmann lives in Dublin's Ballsbridge with her husband Adam and their daughter Charlotte (5). Together with her business partner, the Chinese doctor and acupuncturist Dr Nina Bing Liu, she runs AcuPlus in Donnybrook, Dublin 4.
The five words that sum up my business are: Health, Wellbeing, Acupuncture, Fertility, Healing
Myself and my business partner Nina have been friends for 13 years. When I was doing my acupuncture training, Nina was a huge support. We had talked about doing something together and the timing was right in April 2015. We had been looking for a suitable premises for some time when a friend, osteopath Aisling Harmon, mentioned she had rooms in Donnybrook. The location was ideal and, after a few minor renovations, we moved in.
Nina is an extremely experienced Chinese Doctor & Acupuncturist. She has a rare talent and is widely respected in the Irish community especially in the area of fertility. We work very closely with medical consultants in this area. I am also a qualified acupuncturist. So even though I mostly run the business side of things, I’m well versed in the medicine . So I think we complement each other well.
Our business is almost entirely word of mouth. We are exceptionally lucky in this regard. People feel better; sleep better; fall pregnant and then they tell their friends and family. That’s the best endorsement for our business. We have a good website, social media platforms and we keep on top of our SEO etc. so people have found us online. But mostly it’s been very organic.
We know the business was going to be a success when the phone started ringing and it didn’t stop. I always believed it would because I have faith in our ‘product’ and I knew how committed we both were, but obviously we had our doubts.
The main benefit of working for yourself is doing something you love and care about every day. Choosing who you work with, the flexibility it affords you and the autonomy to make your own decisions are also benefits. Another one is the personal challenge it presents. There are drawbacks too of course, you can’t just decide to pull a ‘sickie’!
Both myself and my husband are self-employed, so we have some flexibility where childcare is concerned. My parents and extended family and friends have also been a huge support.
I would encourage my daughter to do whatever she loves when she grows up. Although at the moment she wants to be the tooth fairy...
It’s probably a bit of a cliché, but if you believe strongly in something or you think you have something unique, by all means go for it.
Are you a mumpreneur? Get in touch and tell us about your business to be featured. Email katie.mythen@herfamily.ie.
